Chapter 139: picking things.

The residents who spread rumors, the ones who called her a murderer, the ones who pretended they had been attacked for no reason, they were all already dragging their own fate behind them. The apocalypse had no patience for hypocrisy. It had less patience for stupidity. Bai Li leaned forward, read one more world news update, and then sat back with a small sigh. There was a lot to do, and all of it was more important than the building gossip. Still, she knew that Yan Cijin would probably send another message later, and that thought gave the afternoon a small warmth. Bai Li liked that. She liked that somewhere in another apartment, in another room full of family noise and children’s laughter, someone was worrying about her in a way that had nothing to do with greed or self interest. That kind of attention was rare now. She intended to keep it.

///////

Bai Li turned off her computer and sat back for a moment, letting the quiet settle around her room. The screen had been full of news from different places, ugly reports and half broken clips, and after reading enough of that stuff she felt her mind getting a little tired even though her body had already become stronger from the serum. She knew the potion had improved her in a lot of ways, but she also knew that it was not some magic thing that could fix everything at once. Her strength was better now, her speed was better too, and even her balance felt sharper than before, but if she got badly hurt, she still would not heal fast enough to ignore it. That thought stayed with her for a while as she lay down on the bed and looked at her phone one last time before sleeping. She checked the latest posts from other places, mostly to keep track of how bad the situation was getting outside the city, and every time she saw another report about zombies or a city losing contact, her face stayed calm but her mind kept working. She was not the type to panic easily. She was the type to think ahead. Still, the more she read, the clearer it became that tomorrow would not be easier just because she wanted it to be. The world was getting more unstable, and she had to keep herself in shape if she wanted to survive it.

Just before going to sleep, Bai Li suddenly remembered Yan Cijin’s instructions. Yan Cijin had told her to take the anti inflammatory medicine properly and not act stubborn just because she felt better for a few hours. Bai Li sat up again, reached into her things, found the pills, and swallowed two of them with water. It was such a simple little thing, but somehow it made her think of Yan Cijin’s serious face while saying it, and that made the corners of her mouth lift a little. Then she pulled the summer blanket over herself and lay back down. The apartment was quiet, the kind of quiet that only showed up when the whole building was sleeping or pretending to sleep, and it made her feel a little more at ease. Even though the day had been messy and annoying, she still managed to drift off after a while. Her body was tired enough to give in, and her mind, after all that reading and planning, finally let go too. Before she fully fell asleep, she had one more thought about tomorrow. She needed to keep her injuries under control, keep her supplies ready, and keep her eyes open for any movement in the building. That was enough for now. The rest could wait until morning.

When she woke up again, it was already broad daylight. The first thing she did was glance at her watch, and seeing the time made her sit up at once. Eight o’clock. Not too late, but not really early either. Bai Li got up quickly and washed her face, still moving carefully because her hands were not fully healed yet. She did not want to make the wound worse just because she was in a hurry. After washing up, she opened a few wrappers and ate two chocolate bars because they were fast and easy, and in the apocalypse, fast and easy was already a kind of win. Then she boiled a kettle of water and made herself a cup of milk powder. It was not some fancy breakfast, but it was warm and it filled her stomach well enough. Once she had eaten a simple meal and taken her anti inflammatory medicine again, she felt her body settle into a steady state. Not perfect, but solid enough. That was all she needed. She then grabbed a bag and went to the supplies room. Bai Li had brought back quite a few snacks over time, and now she stood there looking through the piles with a very practical kind of focus. She was thinking about Lili. Children’s food often had more sugar and calories, and those were exactly the kinds of things that could be useful in the apocalypse because they turned into energy quickly. Bai Li was still not very familiar with the idea of what children liked to eat. As a bodyguard, she had hardly ever interacted with children before, so this was still a bit of a new field for her. She could handle weapons, doors, threats, and survival plans without trouble, but small kids and what they liked to snack on was still something she was figuring out little by little.

Bai Li squatted down and started picking things out in a very random but very serious way. She grabbed a few colorful boxes of candy first, then stuffed them into the bag. After that came several bags of potato chips and fries, plus lollipops, rainbow candies, marshmallows, and other little treats that looked sweet and easy to eat. She thought about texture for a second too,

..

.

.

To be continued.